Consumer Spectroscopy

VIAVI HFA technology enables a spectral sensor small enough to fit into a watch, phone, or fitness band.

VIAVI has decades of experience in optical filter technology, deep expertise in optical spectroscopy, and a proven track record of supplying optical components to the consumer electronics and medical instrumentation marketplaces. VIAVI Hyperspectral Filter Array (HFA) technology follows our VIAVI Linear Variable Filter (LVF) technology, developed for NASA interplanetary spectroscopic instruments, and the development and manufacture of the MicroNIR miniature near-infrared (NIR) spectrometers, as the newest offering for the miniature spectroscopy market.  Hyperspectral Filter Array (HFA) technology allows for chip-scale spectroscopic sensors to be embedded in consumer facing devices. The HFA is a millimeter-scale array of optical bandpass filters that, when combined with a photodetector array, creates a small, full function spectral sensor. Dozens to hundreds of optical channels can be fabricated using a wafer-scale process that can meet consumer electronics price points.

HFA technology is based on wafer-level processing and achieves a significantly lower cost point than previous spectroscopic solutions. VIAVI has a proven track record supplying the consumer electronics industry as the leading supplier of optical bandpass filters for 3D sensing systems used in smartphones.

Applications for VIAVI HFA technology include:

  • Personalization of daily skin care
  • Continuous vital sign monitoring by a wearable device to measure heart rate, blood pressure and blood oxygen level
  • Food freshness and nutritional content
  • Authenticity of medication

smartwatch schematic